President Donald Trump declared late Wednesday night in a social media post that Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Ken Paxton was "ready, willing and able" to debate Democrat James Talarico after refusing to do so up to now in a fight the state attorney general has feared he would lose if he did.
Trump announced Paxton's eagerness to get into the ring with the Democrat they call Talafreako on Truth Social after a rally in San Antonio that was designed to boost the Texas Senate candidate but focused mostly on the president instead. Trump used the event at the Freeman Coliseum more as a stage for slapping Talarico and falsely protraying him as a vegan, a word the president said he couldn't pronounce until his wife called him out and told him how to say it.
Trump was interrupted a dozen times or more by protests that erupted throughout his speech in the 77-year-old arena that was the home long ago to professional wrestling matches, the local rodeo, a couple of minor league hockey teams and concerts with teen idols in its heyday. Trump was disrupted more at the SA event that he'd been before an audience in the past 10 years - according to journalists who've covered him during that span of time.
Paxton proved to be an afterthought at the rally where the president had former baseball player Roger Clemens introduce him instead of doing it himself. Trump warned the audience in the Alamo City that he would never forgive the Lone Star State if Talarico wins the Senate seat. But Trump - with an assist from the Texas AG - also used the event to test out a new battle cry for the Paxton campaign and the Republicans who are dependent on it on the ballot below this fall.
"Where's Talarico?" the crowd chanted with Paxton directing it.
Trump raised the specter in the Truth Social post in the rally's wake that something sinister was amiss with the state representative who's emerged in recent months as the favorite in the Texas Senate race.
"No one has seen him for an extended period," Trump said of the Democrat in the Texas Senate race. "Where is he? What is wrong with him? Bad rumors are coming out."
Trump apparently was referring to baseless rumors that Paxton's allies had spread on social media with speculation that Talarico had a mental breakdown. The truth was, Talarico caught the flu on the campaign trail and plans to return as soon as he's no longer contagious. Talarico's response to the Trump's debate demands for Paxton showed he would be good to go for that.
"President Trump just said Ken Paxton should debate," Talarico said on X on Thursday morning. "I agree. Ball’s in your court @KenPaxtonTX."
But Paxton was still attempting to milk the Democrat's stretch on the sidelines and remained mum on Trump's announcement that he was finally prepared to debate the Democrat. "Michael Jordan played through the flu and won an NBA championship, but Low-T Talarico is too fragile to step out of the shadows with a cough."
Paxton's mocking of Talarico for calling in sick may may not have the sting the Republican anticipates in light of the attorney general's decision to leave the Senate race behind during a peak week for campaigning with a European getaway with a girlfriend that put them in London for the Fourth of July.
But Paxton's claim as the High-T candidate is an even tougher sell after failing to agree to a single debate in a move that's given Talarico and the Democrats a golden opportunity to question the Republican's manhood.
Trump put Paxton in a no-win situation with his call for Talarico to come out from hiding and square off with the Texas AG on the stage in a debate. The president didn't appear concerned that Paxton has been dodging debates because he would be shredded by a Democrat who's been one of the Texas House's most gifted speakers and debate champions since he rode the last blue wave into office in 2018.
While Paxton has served as the top Texas lawyer for nearly a dozen years, he's a shy public speaker who'd be bringing more baggage to the stage than Talarico would have the time to spotlight. Dodging Talarico has been a strategy based on the theory that a debate would spell certain doom for a candidate who thinks he has a chance to survive if he skips them all.
But Trump's trumpeting of Paxton's eagerness to debate will only make the Senate contender look worse when he spurns the president's call and does not agree to a single one. Trump's comments on a Texas Senate debate suggested that he might not know Paxton as well as he thinks he does and is even more in the dark on Talarico.
more to come ...
?? MISSING: James Talarico
Missing posters are popping up across Texas as the search continues.
LAST SEEN: 12 days ago.
Texans everywhere are asking: where is James Talarico? https://t.co/t6SZG92fge
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) October 8, 2026
By my count, eight separate protests during Trump’s rally in San Antonio. I’ve covered hundreds of his events and most I’ve personally seen. https://t.co/pDW8dkpftb
NEWS — President Trump is calling for a debate between Ken Paxton and James Talarico, declaring Paxton “ready, willing, and able.”
Talarico has already accepted five debate invitations. Paxton has declined all five. https://t.co/EmYNgWZ3Se
BREAKING: @WillieNelson endorses James Talarico:
“I've gotten to know James Talarico. He's a good man, who will be a good senator for the state of Texas. Please vote and vote for James Talarico.“ https://t.co/FD2nYpVrSU
